


Next

by TomatoBookworm



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: (Temporary?) Director Daisy, 7x06 spoilers, 7x07 speculation, Brief veiled references to Coulson & season 5-6 events, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25094014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/pseuds/TomatoBookworm
Summary: “Well, who’s in charge?” Sousa asked. “Your director was left behind on the last jump. Who comes after him in the chain of command?”
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson & Agents of SHIELD Team
Comments: 18
Kudos: 72





	Next

**Author's Note:**

> \- A big thank you to @LibbyWeasley for the beta! I was really nervous about how this one turned out but she convinced me it does make sense :) 
> 
> \- Canon compliant and spoilers up to 7x06. There are two lines mentioning the loss of Coulson, and I don’t think it’s enough to warrant the Major Character Death tag, but feel free to hit the back button if that’s not your thing.

Daisy winced as she sat up a little straighter on the bed. At least she was in the med bay and not the med pod. Her team needed her. 

“Careful,” Jemma said as she adjusted the IV in Daisy’s arm. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. It’s normal to feel lightheaded for a while.”

“I’ll be fine.” She had to be. “What do we do now?”

They looked at one other around the room. May. Jemma. Elena. Enoch. Sousa. The silence stretched. 

“Well, who’s in charge?” Sousa asked. “Your director was left behind on the last jump. Who comes after him in the chain of command?”

Daisy glanced at May, the most senior agent on the plane, but May shook her head. 

“I am emotionally compromised, literally. Simmons doesn’t know if and when my emotions would come back, or how it would affect me then. We can’t take the risk.”

“Simmons?” Daisy asked. 

“May is right, and I can’t lead either,” Jemma said. She met Daisy’s eyes. “You can trust me on time travel, Zephyr, and science. Trust me too when I say I can’t be in charge of operations.”

Jemma’s keeping secrets again, probably something to do with the time she and Fitz spent without the team. They both knew Daisy could call her out on it, just as they both knew Daisy would trust Jemma to do what she thought was right. 

“We need to stop wasting time,” Elena interjected. “Daisy’s in charge. Next?”

Daisy snapped her attention to Elena, “What?”

“You are our best choice,” Elena said as a matter of fact. “The time we spend talking is time we should be using to look for Mack.”

Yes, they should find Mack and Deke as soon as possible, but to give her the command?

“Are you forgetting what happened the last time I was in charge?”

“No. You were hurt, traumatized, dealing with losing Coulson and your friend.” Elena held her gaze. “Like you are now. But you’ve learned from it. You admit when things are not working, and you have the most field command experience after May. I say you are our leader until Mack comes back.”

“As someone who had followed Daisy across the universe, I second the motion.” 

“Simmons, you disobeyed my direct command on that mission.” Maybe it had been a long time for Jemma. To Daisy it was only days ago when Jemma kidnapped the Zephyr for a hunch. It was the right hunch, but the principle of the matter still stood. 

“I acknowledged you are a good leader, I didn’t say I was a good follower.” Jemma sent her a small smile. 

“If we ever jump to the time when we first met, I am telling myself not to believe a word of your ‘rules make me feel nice’ speech,” Daisy paused. “What happens if we do meet our past selves? The timeline is completely messed up at this point isn’t it?”

“Our adversaries do appear to have abandoned all attempts at preserving the time stream,” Enoch said. “Unlike anthropologists, hunters do not always have the processing power to comprehend the implications of their actions. It is therefore imperative that we stop them before they interfere further with Terran civilization’s natural development. Agent Johnson, I believe you have been, as Terrans called it, elected.”

Daisy looked around the room. Sousa shrugged. He didn’t know all their history. She met May’s gaze. 

“I’ve trained you to meet your challenges. You can do this.”

“How?” 

“I don’t have any emotions, but you do,” May said. “Caring is your power, since before you joined the team. What do you feel is the most important thing right now?”

Daisy closed her eyes for a moment. There were so many things on her mind. Saving the world again. Getting Mack and Deke back. Allowing herself to mourn for Coulson once more. Taking down Malick for what he did to her. Jiaying. Timelines. 

She was certain when she looked at everyone in the room again. 

“We need to save Earth, and we can’t do it on our own.” She nodded at Enoch. “The Chronicoms control the time jumps, and we can’t win this by chasing after them every time. As you’ve said, they are not bothering to keep history intact anymore.”

“What do you have in mind?” Enoch asked. 

“We need reinforcements, from sources that the Chronicoms didn’t interfere with.” Daisy touched her neck gingerly. “Malick has heard about Inhumans, but I am the first one he found.”

“Daisy.” Jemma’s eyes went to her wound. 

“May and Sousa, you start searching through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s old hideouts. See if you can find any clues of Mack and Deke’s location. Jemma and Enoch, you are running backend.”

“And me?” Elena asked. 

“You and I are going to step out of the plane,” Daisy said. “And hope a certain teleporter has come into his power long enough to pick up two new Inhumans on the ground.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> \- It’s been a while since I last rewatched the relevant episodes, but from what I remember, Gordon went through Terrigenesis in 1983. Whitehall found Jiaying while Daisy was still a baby, so sometime between July 1988 and July 1989. If 7x07 brings us to a time period between 1983 and 1988... please AoS give me Director Daisy, Good!Jiaying, and mother-daughter team up!


End file.
